Sri Lanka is getting internet via Google's balloons

[zMeul]

source: http://phys.org/news/2015-07-sri-lanka-ties-google-internet.html
 

Sri Lanka teamed up on Tuesday with Google to bring high-speed Internet access to the island using balloons, aiming to become the first country in the region with complete coverage.

Foreign minister Mangala Samaraweera said officials signed an agreement with Google in the capital Colombo to launch the helium-filled, high-tech balloons above the Indian Ocean island in coming months.
Google announced Project Loon in 2013 aimed at delivering Internet connections to remote or rural areas worldwide using gear floating from thousands of the balloons.

"The entire Sri Lankan island – every village from (southern) Dondra to (northern) Point Pedro – will be covered with affordable high speed Internet using Google Loon's balloon technology," said Samaraweera, who is also IT minister.

Officials said local Internet service providers will have access to the balloons, reducing their operational costs.

Muhunthan Canagey, head of local authority the Information and Communication Technology Agency, said he expected Google to have finished sending up the balloons by next March.

"Service providers will be able to access higher speeds and improve the quality of their existing service once the balloon project is up and running," Canagey told AFP.

"We can also expect prices to come down," he said after he signed the agreement with Michael Cassidy, a Google vice president .

The balloons, once in the stratosphere, will be twice as high as commercial airliners and barely visible to the naked eye, Google has said.

Google plans to keep the balloons aloft in the stratosphere for 100 days, transmitting Internet signals to the ground, and with their movements guided by an algorithmic formula. Tests were carried out in New Zealand in 2013.

Official figures show there are 2.8 million mobile Internet connections and 606,000 fixed line Internet subscribers among Sri Lanka's more than 20 million population.

Sri Lanka became the first country in South Asia to introduce mobile phones in 1989 and the first to roll out a 3G network in 2004. It was also the first in the region to unveil a 4G network two years ago./

Project Loon - Google
 

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that's seriously cool
now let's make it world-wide

[SImoHayha]

Isn't Sri Lanka a hostile place ? I know it pretty remote and it near something else.

[rtpb5642]

Thats cool.

[Agazed]

This is sorta an inefficient way. I bet it would be less expensive over time and faster speeds if they just ran a cable under the ocean.

 

Example 

[soaringchicken]

Yet again, unlike many other companies (cough cough Apple) Google is producing products for the benefit of society and the world in general (that might be overstating it) without a real guarantee of profit. 

[Mict]

Yet again, unlike many other companies (cough cough Apple) Google is producing products for the benefit of society and the world in general (that might be overstating it) without a real guarantee of profit. 

 

 

Well, Apple launched ResearchKit which is OpenSource and is aimed to advance medical research

[blackadder]

I already want to shoot it down. I don't know why.

Also hear this is a beautiful place in the world if anyone lives there, please tell.

[FakezZ]

This is sorta an inefficient way. I bet it would be less expensive over time and faster speeds if they just ran a cable under the ocean.

 

Example 

I don't really think Google have a problem with money. Besides, having giant balloons in the stratosphere providing internet sounds a hell of a lot cooler

[Guest]

This is sorta an inefficient way. I bet it would be less expensive over time and faster speeds if they just ran a cable under the ocean.

 

Example -snip-

 

Having an undersea cable wouldn't solve the problem of giving the entire island coverage; it would cost a hell of a lot, and a hell of a lot of time to create a sufficient network on the island. 

[Humbug]

The cities in Sri Lanka are already well covered with 4G LTE, wimax and DSL via copper lines. Fiber Internet over here is primarily used by businesses and only in the last couple years beginning to catch on for residencies.

There are remote regions however where ISPs will not invest in because the population is sparse and have limited spending power. Also some mountainous regions which make terrestrial radio difficult. Google balloons can make a big difference in those areas by providing blanket coverage from altitude. I think the latency would be bad and things like Skype would not work, but should be fine for basic browsing.

Isn't Sri Lanka a hostile place ?

No it's not. I live I Sri Lanka. Been peaceful for six years and counting.

[Humbug]

This is sorta an inefficient way. I bet it would be less expensive over time and faster speeds if they just ran a cable under the ocean.

It's important to understand the difference between last mile access for consumers and international peering between ISPs. There are multiple submarine fiber cables already landing in Sri Lanka. These are used by local ISPs to peer with foreign ISPs for backhauling data. Consumers don't directly connect to it.

Also people in population centers here have broad access to Internet already. Even up to 100Mbps fiber in some cases connecting via traditional ISPs.

But there are also people who live in very remote areas where it's not profitable for ISPs to invest, and where people cannot afford the plans. Giving them basic Internet access is an uplifting force.

[RedRound2]

Yet again, unlike many other companies (cough cough Apple) Google is producing products for the benefit of society and the world in general (that might be overstating it) without a real guarantee of profit. 

 

Do you realize that if they go on about this, they could

connect millions of people to the internet = more google searches, youtube, etc = more $$$.

That's the only reason why even facebook is venturing into this as they think this is a huge potential for untapped income

 

For other companies however, this wouldn't be possible as they would bleed out of money in trying to maintain it, including Apple. However Apple has launched Research Kit to advance in medical field when they know they aren't going to get anything back, so don't go fanboy around google when admittedly Apple has done something more selfless. And c'mon how could you forget numerous charities, relief campaigns, expressing their support for various communities, etc slip through your head

[soaringchicken]

Do you realize that if they go on about this, they could

connect millions of people to the internet = more google searches, youtube, etc = more $$$.

That's the only reason why even facebook is venturing into this as they think this is a huge potential for untapped income

 

For other companies however, this wouldn't be possible as they would bleed out of money in trying to maintain it, including Apple. However Apple has launched Research Kit to advance in medical field when they know they aren't going to get anything back, so don't go fanboy around google when admittedly Apple has done something more selfless. And c'mon how could you forget numerous charities, relief campaigns, expressing their support for various communities, etc slip through your head

Not trying to pull down Apple here, but they only do that sort of stuff for good PR; and I can tell you now, google will not make back it's money put into R&D and other expenses related to this project for a while, they are far from making a profit here. Anyway besides the point, why the hell does it always start a flame war the second I badmouth Apple, settle down man.

 

And I don't believe Google is the coming down of Jesus on this Earth, all companies inevitable goal is to get the dough, some more or less than others. 

[RedRound2]

Not trying to pull down Apple here, but they only do that sort of stuff for good PR; and I can tell you now, google will not make back it's money put into R&D and other expenses related to this project for a while, they are far from making a profit here. Anyway besides the point, why the hell does it always start a flame war the second I badmouth Apple, settle down man.

 

And I don't believe Google is the coming down of Jesus on this Earth, all companies inevitable goal is to get the dough, some more or less than others. 

 

Well Apple's getting good PR for doing something actually good. Forgot about how doctors praised ResearchKit, LGBT equality because of Tim Cook, etc. There's nothing wrong with that. Its like saying they're famous because they make good products.

 

Surely google will definitely get back their money.As I said before this a huge source for income.

To sign up for the service, you'll need Gmail account. Then automatically you'll definitely be using Google and Youtube instead of Bing and Vimeo. Since most people who get the internet access because of google are middle class and below, they'll probably get an inexpensive android phone (no competition here) again giving more data to google so they can mine money out of you

 

Google's already one of the richest companies only from online advertising (as they don't get anything from android) and they are where they are just because 2 billion (maybe minus 1000) are using their services online. Now think about what if you connect another 2 billion to the internet and eventually all 8 billion, they'll be swimming in greens. The same reason applies to Google Fibre where they're trying to encourage people to use the internet more

 

While it seems like a noble cause from the outside, their true intention is to get more $$$ which isn't bad though as its win win for both, but from the way you said it it seemed like google was sacrificing a lot only for the benefit of people

[soaringchicken]

Well Apple's getting good PR for doing something actually good. Forgot about how doctors praised ResearchKit, LGBT equality because of Tim Cook, etc. There's nothing wrong with that. Its like saying they're famous because they make good products.

 

Surely google will definitely get back their money.As I said before this a huge source for income.

To sign up for the service, you'll need Gmail account. Then automatically you'll definitely be using Google and Youtube instead of Bing and Vimeo. Since most people who get the internet access because of google are middle class and below, they'll probably get an inexpensive android phone (no competition here) again giving more data to google so they can mine money out of you

 

Google's already one of the richest companies only from online advertising (as they don't get anything from android) and they are where they are just because 2 billion (maybe minus 1000) are using their services online. Now think about what if you connect another 2 billion to the internet and eventually all 8 billion, they'll be swimming in greens. The same reason applies to Google Fibre where they're trying to encourage people to use the internet more

 

While it seems like a noble cause from the outside, their true intention is to get more $$$ which isn't bad though as its win win for both, but from the way you said it it seemed like google was sacrificing a lot only for the benefit of people

*sighs*

[RedRound2]

*sighs*

 

*facepalm*

I don't care that you're bashing apple because everyone does god know why but praising google for this when they're definitely more interested in returns than connecting more people online is a bit too much of misconception

[soaringchicken]

*facepalm*

I don't care that you're bashing apple because everyone does god know why but praising google for this when they're definitely more interested in returns than connecting more people online is a bit too much of misconception

Well, despite all that you've said, what google is doing is a good thing, with the giant fibre movement, and internet for rural areas.

[RedRound2]

Well, despite all that you've said, what google is doing is a good thing, with the giant fibre movement, and internet for rural areas.

 

You didn't read what I wrote before

 

While it seems like a noble cause from the outside, their true intention is to get more $$$ which isn't bad though as its win win for both, but from the way you said it it seemed like google was sacrificing a lot only for the benefit of people